St. Louis jury vacates juvenile’s life sentence

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St. Louis jury vacates juvenile’s life sentence

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ A St. Louis jury has vacated a 21-year-old man’s life sentence for a fatal shooting he committed as a teen.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the jury deliberated for about three hours Friday before announcing it could not reach a unanimous decision on whether Ledale Nathan Jr. should again receive life without parole for the shooting death of a 34-year-old mother of two. An off-duty police officer and a firefighter were also wounded in the October 2009 home invasion.

The jury vote means that Nathan’s conviction will be reduced to second-degree murder and a sentence of 10 to 30 years.

The Missouri Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing for Nathan after a 2012 U .S. Supreme Court decision declaring automatic life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional.

lsl guy

Groovy Chick

I imagine the automatic life sentence without parole was put there so teens could not be executed for crimes that would for an adult be death sentences. I hope that means that juries can now opt for the death penalty. But of course, it won’t